Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zehn Zebell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Zehn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I was in The middle of a mental health crisis, and I needed to leave my full-time job. I had started Zehnz Dezignz officially in April 2021. And my last day at that job was May 3.
When I applied for my business license in March of that year, I had no idea that my side hustle business that I started to help people in need was Going to be the biggest life changing experience that I’ve had in my life thus far.
When faced with the choice of finding a new job in my current field, which was HR management at the time, or leaning in to the business as a source of income, of course I had to talk to my husband about this huge financial risk.

As I mentioned above, little did I know at the time, I was at the beginning of a mental health crisis. It had been very clear that I was not going to be able to continue working with the owner of a small business due to some of my own past traumatic experiences. And when I was explaining this to my husband, he saw that I was struggling. And him and I had the very real conversation of if I were to find another employer, would I be in the same position after a few months that I was in now. And would that continue to deteriorate my mental health, or would this be a beneficial long-term plan. At the time we were in the position to have Dan‘s full-time income carry the financial load for a while, and he encouraged me to try to make the business work.
At this point, I should clarify, I have no history or knowledge of running a business. I didn’t go to business school, I didn’t actually even know how to sew just a short six months prior to this crossroads decision. I didn’t have any business connections, and I really had no idea of what I was getting into.
Here we are almost 4 years later, and I have this beautiful growing business. It brings absolute joy and immense passion to my life. And while my business is still growing, I am in a continuous state of growth, stress, worry and joy. And I love every minute of it.

Zehn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I had been in the HE field for about eight years. In 2020, I was, An HR manager for a company who employed home healthcare workers to support vulnerable individuals in their own homes. I’ve been with the company for several years at this point, and when the pandemic struck, My employees were essential, and the care that they provided to our individuals was crucial,
And of course, we were responsible for keeping those individuals safe as well.

I am a helper by nature. I see a problem and I want to solve it. And the best way I know how to solve a problem is by doing it myself. So with the PPE shortage, I took it upon myself to buy a relatively inexpensive sewing machine And some cute cotton fabric and tried like heck to find a mask pattern and tutorial so I could learn how to sew facemasks for my employees and the individuals we supported.
I started cranking out some basic rectangle shaped masks. After a few of those I wasn’t satisfied with the the pattern or it’s ability to protect anyone, so I found another pattern and I took off making probably 30 masks a day, Sewing every night until I couldn’t see straight anymore.
This was a pretty standard practice from April 20 20 through about October 2020. As we all know, living through a global pandemic is extremely stressful and like a lot of people, I got burned out in from being a constant essential person in a Field of healthcare. And I needed to take a step back to protect my mental and emotional health.
I did start a new job in a field other than Healthcare, though still in HR.
I hadn’t yet realized it wasn’t my field that needed a change, it was actually my own heart.
During the short time at the new job, I found a drive to create coordinating patterns and materials to make these “essential” things a little brighter. And the feedback I was getting was really positive. Once I felt I had “mastered” the masks, I wanted to know what else I could make with the new skill I taught myself. I started seeking out other things I could make with the materials I had on hand. I started making small drawstring bags, aprons, and once I felt confident, I gave my goal at a zippered pouch. The zipper struck me like a bolt of lightning. Well, if I can figure out how to put a zipper on something, I should be able to make a bag with a zipper as a pocket. And my joy of creating fun and vibrant, designs, combined with my passion for learning, I found myself in a new shiny world, online, of bag makers. And I have not looked back.
Once I decided that this is something that I wanted to pursue, I wanted to continue to make things that brought joy to others. I started thinking about all of the things that we used in our lives, that were essential day today. Not only our new constant need for facemasks, but also our shoulder bags, our keychains, our glasses cases, make up bags, etc.. i wanted to transform these everyday things into pieces of art that bring joy to those who carry them.
I sort out bright colors, fun patterns, beautiful, florals, and other kind of cotton and canvas material that I could find at my local craft store. But once I found the online bag making community, I started seeing these beautiful luxury handbags that people were putting together. And I was so envious, I needed to know how I could do that. That journey led me into extraordinarily talented, material designers, hardware, designers, and other fabulous suppliers. All small businesses like me, all trying to live a dream.
My business model has shifted several times in the last four years, but my mission to create beautiful every day items that bring people joy, is definitely a constant statement in my business practice.
When developing my brand, I really wanted to find something that’s stood out, that really made my items, my bags speak for themselves. I tried to find other people‘s inspiration. And like we’ve all heard 1000 times over, when you try to do somebody else’s idea of inspiration, it’s probably not going to work out for you. None of the things that I was doing was continuing to bring me joy. I really needed to find something that Would really express who I am through my products.
So I have found some embellishing tags and hardware to really complement the style of the bag, and also shares the love of the product from me to the new owner.
Often in my bags, you’ll find coordinating thread colors with the exterior materials, a themed zipper that coordinates with the bag, as well as sewn in tags that say things like “you look really pretty today”, “Keep Going”, “I’m rooting for you”, and other phrases to share the love I have for you and my handcrafted items.
Styling these bags, and incorporating my own creativity and bright and shiny-ness, has really launched my bags into statement pieces. Making them stand out all in their own, just by staying true to myself and my passion and my brand.
I really believe that we rise by lifting others, and if my one product brings joy to the person carrying it, that joy will naturally spread out to others. So I guess I might be trying to change the world one bag at a time.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I tell you what, as someone who really struggles with poor self image and self-doubt, trying to build a brand with my own creativity, has been a very eye-opening experience. I have been growing this business for the last four years, and honest to goodness only within the last four months, have I started to realize that my bags are good enough, are amazing, to be in the same marketplace as other top bag designers like Michael Kors, and Kate spade.
It has taken four years of positive feedback, repeat business, love, and encouragement from the best people in my life, and truly believing in myself that I can build this from my own heart and mind.
I had to really unlearn what I had drilled into my head at a very young age; I’m not good enough. And that is a really hard road to go down. But knowing that I had a strong home support system, my husband, and the drive to really make this work, I kept driving forward. And really telling myself that even though I didn’t make that sale, I am not a failure. Just because my business is still growing and is not 100% successful yet, I am not a failure. My business may not be profitable all of the time, but I am not a Failure.. And I am continuously learning and growing and giving 120% of myself as my baseline. I refuse to fail, and I have recently learned to believe in myself. And that is a very magical and beautiful thing.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first got started with my business, since I was a new Soest, I hadn’t found my confidence in my bags, or other small stone items that I had incorporated into my shop. Like aprons, drawstring bags, scrunchies, lanyards. Small things like that. To supplement that skill, I thought that I should include anything that I could make into my store/business. I tried to include glass etching, which I had no business doing. I tried creating my own sticker brand to incorporate in my shop. I Tried to make items that I had no interest in making, like glasses cases, but due to outside influence, I really tried to make anything someone suggested for me.
Cut two spring 2023. I was at a market and we had a huge gust of wind and it picked up my tent and shifted it over, simultaneously dropping a lot of of my materials and bags and items. A lot of of the paper art that I had was in glass frames, those all broke. Anyhow, after getting all of that cleaned up, my market neighbor had come over and had suggested a couple of tips that I could do to prevent that from happening in the future. As I was pretty new to the market scene anyway, it was helpful. However, opening that Conversation with my market neighbor, she had asked me why does a bag maker also have framed art. And that simple question did not have a good answer to it. And that really turned on a huge lightbulb, and I don’t have to sell everything I make. I can have things that are just for myself as hobbies. And not try to bury my bags with other filler. So that was a huge shift and focus for me. It was hard for me to start the transition from “all the things” to only bags and the other “daily essentials” I wanted to create to bring joy.
It was a few months of feeling a little lost, and finding new patterns to bring to life.
That wind event and introduction to that neighbor, significantly changed my outlook on where my business was, and what I wanted out of if.
It was a very beneficial experience and start of the pivot to bags and fashion accessories only offered in my retail shop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zehnzdezignz.com
• Instagram: zehnz_dezignz
• Facebook: zehnz_dezignz

Image Credits

Rethlyn Photography- credit for professional photo only.